1. Network Panel

1. Open a web browser (Chrome recommended).
2. Navigate to: https://www.cnn.com/
3. Right-click on the page and select Inspect.
4. Navigate to the Network panel (tab).
5. Right-click on one of the column headers (e.g., Name).
   When the context menu appears, ensure that Domain and Method are both checked.
6. Turn off your ad blocker (if you have one).
7. Reload the page.

Questions (Answer for yourself)

• Approximately how many resources did your browser download?
• How many different servers (domains) did your browser communicate with?
• How many of those requests were POST requests (i.e., data sent from the browser to a server)?
• Based on what you see, how many companies appear to have some presence on this page (besides CNN)?
• What surprised you most?

Optional:
If you use an ad blocker, turn it back on and reload the page. What changes?

2. Cookies and Client-Side Storage

1. Navigate to the Application panel (tab).
2. In the left-hand panel, scroll to the Storage section.
3. Expand each of the following, one at a time:
   • Local Storage
   • Session Storage
   • Cookies
4. For each category, observe:
   • How many items are stored?
   • How many different domain names appear?
5. Delete all stored items.

Optional:
Turn your ad blocker back on and reload the page. What changes?

Discussion Questions

Discuss with your group:

• When you load a single webpage, who are you actually interacting with?
• Which of these network requests feel necessary for the site to function, and which feel optional?
• What assumptions does this site make about user consent, awareness, or attention?
• How do business models (advertising, analytics, personalization) shape what you observed?
• How might this experience differ for users with different levels of technical literacy, resources, or legal protections?
• After doing this activity, does the phrase “free website” still feel accurate?